The present invention is of particular significance when applied to umbrella systems, and that application of the present invention will be described herein in detail. However, the principles of the present invention may be applied to other portable, free-standing objects such as patio heaters, patio lighting, traffic or construction cones, and the like. The scope of the present invention should thus be determined based on the claims appended hereto and not the following detailed descriptions of examples of the present invention as applied to free-standing umbrellas.
Umbrellas have long been used to provide protection from sun or rain. At its most basic, an umbrella typically comprises a pole, canopy rods supported by the pole, and a canopy supported by the canopy rods. The canopy rods are typically pivotably supported by the pole such that the umbrella may be reconfigured from a storage configuration in which the canopy rods are parallel to the pole and a use configuration in which the canopy rods radially extend from the pole. A form factor of the canopy in the storage configuration is much smaller than in the use configuration. Certain umbrellas further comprise a collapsible pole that allows an effective length of the umbrella to be altered between the storage configuration and the use configuration.
While many umbrellas are designed to be carried when in the use configuration, one class of umbrellas, referred to herein as free-standing umbrellas, is designed to be supported by the ground. Free-standing umbrellas are commonly used to provide protection from rain or sun on outdoor patios and seating areas for commercial bistros and the like.
The pole of a free-standing umbrella is designed to engage the ground directly or to be supported by a base that in turn engages the ground. In either scenario, the umbrella is supported by the ground rather than carried. The manner in which the pole and/or base engage the ground should also counteract tipping forces applied to the umbrella during normal use.
To support a free-standing umbrella in an upright position, the pole may be driven, augered, or otherwise inserted into the ground at a desired location. More commonly, however, a weighted base is provided that is supported on top of the ground. The umbrella pole is inserted into a base stem, and the weight of the base is intended to act on the pole through the stem to prevent tipping of the umbrella during normal use.
The base is often made out of a heavy material such as stone. To minimize shipping costs, the base may take the form of a hollow container that may be shipped empty and filled with a material such as sand or water at the time of use. However, the weight of a conventional base is insufficient to prevent tipping of the umbrella in many situations, such as during heavy winds.
To supplement the weight of the base of a conventional free-standing umbrella, additional weighted material may be placed on top of the base. For example, flexible fabric containers that may be manufactured and shipped inexpensively may be filled with sand at the point of installation of the umbrella and placed on top of the umbrella base.
The need exists for improved fabric containers for providing supplemental weight to a conventional umbrella base.